My Little Gardening Library

 

 

I love this quote, but if you know me there is one more important ingredient to give me everything I need. . . my dogs!

 

 

 

Years ago when I was more an antique dealer than I writer, I collected vintage gardening books and made a special place for them in my house. Tucked away in the back corner of my sitting room were built-in shelves I hated. Hated because I wanted an old cupboard where the shelves took up so much space. It didn't take me long to figure out the shelves were perfect to start a little library. I filled them with old gardening books, small treasures, and a few tiny oil paintings. It is a peaceful spot where I can hide out and dream about the past and future while surrounded by beauty. The books there range from late 1800's to mid century. While it is organized and I can label it 'my library', all the other books I collect and read are stacked all over the house. I haven't figured out what to call them yet.

 

 

 

The hated built-in book shelves now house my garden library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A favorite Rose book

 

 

 

 

My collection of vintage and antique gardening books make a sweet library in my sitting room.

 

 

 

 

The antique dealer in me surfaces with small items added to the library shelves.

 

 

 

 

 

Some houses have formal libraries, some with books on shelves or piled high on tables, by the sofa, or bedside.  I can't imagine a house without books. It would not seem like a home to me. My guess is we all agree on that!

 

 

Thanks for reading! To return to the FICTION WRITERS BLOG HOP on Julie Valerie’s website, click here: http://www.julievalerie.com/fiction-writers-blog-hop-sept-2016

 

 



The Old New York Bookshop: Treasured Memories

Early photo of Cliff Graubart at The Old New York Bookshop.

(Photo from The Old New York Bookshop Press)

This post is part of Julie Valerie's Fiction Writers Monthly Blog Hop. You can find the link to continue to other sites below.

 

     Quirky, independent bookshops are my favorite. Granted, I fall prey to Barnes & Noble as a great place to hang out on a dateless Saturday night. I can grab a quick snack, read my favorite magazines, and see what is trending on the bestseller list. However, my heart belongs to those small shops where the personality of the owner shines through. EagleEye in Decatur, a few miles from my house, is top on my current list. Tucked in a small strip mall, it is a splendid combination of used and new books, author signings, and other literary events. I met a date (one of those bad dates you meet online) there in 2009 to attend a screen writing class that was taking place. While the writers were mostly zombie fans, and I was in the middle of writing my widow memoir, it was a great fit, although I like to kid my story was the least gory of all.

     The best of the best, however, was The Old New York Bookshop, a haven to up and coming writers (who became famous Southern authors) in the 1970’s when I first moved to Atlanta. Close to where I worked, in the Midtown section of Atlanta, I stumbled upon it by a fortunate accident. Someone had lifted the wheels off my VW bug and I wandered around looking for a phone. I met the owner Cliff and fell in love with the shop, an old Victorian cottage, with lopsided corners and sagging floors. The many rooms, filled with floor to ceiling bookcases of used, vintage, and antiquarian books, rambled on like a maze.

     Cliff, a small, funny, Jewish fellow from New York, was (and is) as sarcastic as they come, but knew how to make you feel at home. Once I found the shop, I stopped by many times a month to visit on my way home from work. There was a rack of mugs for the regulars (yes, I had my own mug with my name on it) and a constant pot of dark black coffee brewing. I’d fill my cup, plop down on one of the comfy, broken-in sofas, and chat about my day. You never knew who would stop by and join in the conversation, but Cliff was entertainment on his own. (If you read this, Cliff, you know you were the funniest guy around and loved by all your friends.)

     The most memorable moments at the shop were the lavish book-signing parties Cliff gave for local authors who were just beginning their careers. Champagne flowed freely and laughter echoed late into the night. If the rooms became too crowded, there was always the front porch to sit and grab a breath of air and another glass of bubbly. To name drop, but I have to so you can see how fabulous these events were, I met the beloved Pat Conroy there along Terry Kay, Anne Rivers Siddons, Stuart Woods, and so many more of the local authors who became Southern legends over the years. The Old New York Bookshop was part of the literary history of Atlanta.

    Cliff still sells books, but mostly at shows and online. The renovated cottage now houses a trendy, upscale restaurant that fits the gentrified neighborhood. Read about the history of the shop in Cliff's own words on the Georgia Antiquarian Booksellers Association website.  Looking for books?  Check in with Cliff by clicking Contact info. 

     From bookshop owner, book seller, to author, in 2012 Mercer University published Cliff’s novel The Curious Vision Of Sammy Levitt And Other Stories. a humorous and touching tale of 1950s Washington Heights Jewish life.

    Visits to The Old New York Bookshop highlight some of my best memories from those early years in Atlanta. When I had a shop of my own in Old Town, Lilburn, Georgia, in 2011 (The Little Shop Of Arts and Antiques) I remembered those book signings of years ago and decided my antique shop should be a place for writers to hang out, mostly new authors that were self-published. For nine-months, we had a grand time with author events most every weekend. Then I moved the shop to the square in Lawrenceville, where we had more book signings and writing classes for another five months. Not a business person I ran out of money and closed the shop. Some day I hope to put those crazy times in a memoir, certainly not a how to book! 

     I pray there will always be book lovers who keep their shops open. Big name book stores  can produce the goods, but only small owner owned independent shops carry the heart and soul of readers.  

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Thanks for reading. To return to the Fiction Writers Blog Hop on Julie Valerie's website click below.   
 

http://www.julievalerie.com/fiction-writers-blog-hop-june-2016/

    

Borrowing From Elizabeth Gilbert

 

October 28, 2015. Sharing this post as part of a book blog hop. Thanks for reading! To return to the FICTION WRITERS BLOG HOP on Julie Valerie’s Book Blog, click here: 

http://www.julievalerie.com/fiction-writers-blog-hop-oct-2015/

I have an imaginary relationship with Elizabeth Gilbert. It started with my widow book. I had never heard of Ms. Gilbert before and then about the time my book was finished there was a huge hoopla about her book Eat, Pray, Love.  She was trying to find herself after a divorce. I was trying to find myself as a new widow. She spoke to God. I wrote short quirky notes to God. I saw similarities in our stories, small ones, and wondered why my book didn't become a best seller. I was very naïve then. So humor me with my ignorance! I wasn't sure I liked her when I started reading her book. Then I saw a TED talk where she spoke on your elusive, creative genius. I watched in awe and from that moment on I have respected her and probably wanted to be her! But not for her fame - for her grace and eloquence. This past week she blew me away again with her writing. I had to borrow her post from Facebook and share it here. In the face of tragedy she has nailed it. I don't know.  Every day we are flooded with horrific news both on the national and personal level. What do you say? What can you do?  I don't know. Elizabeth Gilbert writes just that. I don't know. . . . but I will sit here with you through this.

Those words may become my mantra.  I do know her post reminded me of my first year as a widow, when I was lost. My friends did not offer advice, they sat with me, they made me get out of the house, they showed their love by being there for me in my darkest hours. They were there for me as I worked back into the light.

Elizabeth Gilbert, once again you have wowed me with your words and insight. Thank you for your beautiful post.



Dear Ones -
I woke up yesterday in joy, and went to bed in sorrow.
I woke up yesterday to the delightful news that my book was a #1 bestseller, and went to bed heartbroken and shaken by the awful news of yet another mass-shooting in America.
I won't be writing a political message here today. The internet is filled with outraged people arguing with each other this morning, and I can't bring myself to contribute more argument to the world right now.
This morning, I'm just writing to say: I don't know.
My heart is broken, and I don't know what to do about it — in the same way that I don't know what to do about the plight of the Syrian refugees, or the rise of ISIS, or the deterioration of the Sudan, or the stubborn endurance of racism, or the onslaught of climate change.
I don't know. I don't know how to fix any of it.
I do know this, though: I know that great joy and great sorrow have something in common, which is: they both cause us to overflow. Joy and sorrow are emotions that make us SPILL — because they are too big for us to contain.
I always know what to do with my overflow of joy — that's easy: You dance it out, you laugh it out, you celebrate, you cheer, you pop the champagne.
I don't always know what to do with my overflow of sorrow. Last night, alone in a hotel room, I lay awake for hours, overflowing in too much sadness to handle. I found myself saying again and again to God, "I don't know what any of this is for, but please help us."
I also found myself thinking about a beautiful young woman at one of my speaking events recently, who asked me how — after a recent devastating personal loss — she is meant to go on. She asked me what God intends, by making her suffer so much? I don't know what her loss was, but I could see by her face, it was very bad.
What was that loss FOR?
The answer is: I don't know.
I don't know what suffering and sorrow and injustice and brutality and loss are FOR.
It's so easy to know what joy and happiness and love and grace are FOR — they are to be celebrated and shared. Joy and good fortune seem to be proof of our divine blessings — proof that God is smiling upon you, proof that you are being looked after, proof that your angels are protecting you, proof that life is fair.
But what is suffering for?
I always hate the simple, reductive answers people often offer up about suffering — because I feel like those answers sometimes only bring more sorrow to those who are in pain.
To blithely say that "This is God's will," in the face of terrible events, seems cruel to me. (Or worse, to say "This is God's punishment!" — Lord help us, what a brutal and inhumane statement.)
To tell a mother whose child has died, "God must have wanted another angel," is almost too awful to bear.
To say, "Well, that must be karma", is also terrible and dismissive. You might as well just shrug at someone's unbearable pain and say, "Hey, shit happens, man."
To say, "Someday this will make you stronger," to someone who is at their weakest? No. Don't ever say that.
To say, "Maybe this tragedy will open up people's eyes about what's going on, and so your child's death won't have been in vain!" is to use another human's life as a political tool. Which is just monstrous.
To say to someone who is being asked to endure the worst sorrow of their lives: "God never gives us more than we can handle!" is so outrageously hurtful, I don't know how anyone ever got to the end of that sentence without being punched in the face.
People seem awfully confident at times, speaking on behalf of God's agenda.
I don't where people get their confidence, to say that they know what God is up to. I don't make such presumptions. In the face of outrageous sorrow, I can only say, "I don't know."
And once we have said that — "I don't know" — then we have reached the end of ourselves. Then, maybe all we can do is sit in silence with the person who is suffering, or with the people who are suffering, and just say, "I will stay here with you."
That's easier to do on the intimate scale than the global scale, but I feel like that's what the great compassionate souls have always done. They say to a sorrowful world: "I don't know why this is happening. But I will stay here with you. I will sit beside you. I see your pain, and although I don't know how to solve it, I will be here with you."
The great compassionate souls always take their overflow of sorrow and turn it into love.
I don't have any answers for anyone today. This is one of those days for me when the world overwhelms, and I feel very small.
But when the world starts to feel overwhelming in its sorrows, I always ask myself to look around me — to narrow down my focus — and to notice somebody who is nearby me, who is suffering. I can't help the millions, but maybe I can help one. You never have to look very far to find a suffering soul. Life is hard; there is always someone going through great pain. I tell myself: Go sit with that person today for a while. Don't try to solve their life, or answer for God, or offer dismissive "reasons", or try fix the whole world. Just say, "I don't know. But I will sit with you through this."
Turn your overflow of sorrow into love. That's the only thing I know how to do sometimes.
Love and blessings,
Liz

Addendum 10/28/2015 More Inspiration from Elizabeth Gilbert.

I am currently reading her new book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear . Awesomeness! It's a collection of very short essays on different topics, divided into six sections: Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust, and Divinity. The perfect inspiration for artists but especially so for writers. Oh, Elizabeth, I do so want to be you!

Remember this post is part of Julie Valerie's Book Blog Hop. Visit other posts
http://www.julievalerie.com/fiction-writers-blog-hop-oct-2015/

Have a wonderful creative and fun day! Share what you are working on in comments and what is inspiring you!

How I Chose My Writer's Platform.

 

Writer With Dogs. Every writer needs a brand - so we are told.  My brand is six rescue dogs that rescued me. After the sixth dog came into my life and my house, and friends started to think being a widow had made me crazier than a loon, I needed to find an excuse that made sense to those who decided I'd tipped off the edge. It came to me one night sitting at the computer, scratching what I hoped was a mosquito bite, not a flea bite (With a house full of dogs - mosquitos are more desirable than fleas - right? You can swat a mosquito, with fleas . . . it's never ending, flea meds, pest control, and the most dreaded word of all  . . . infestation.) In the middle of trying to work on my widow memoir (back in the early days of being on my own) it came to me. I was a writer with dogs, too many according to some folks, but for me - a reason to live and love. My six foot seven husband, rest his soul, believed a household should only have one dog. I believe you can't put a limit on dog love. So that year I became Writer With Dogs. I bought the domain name (dot.com and dot.net, can't be too careful) and 500 business cards with my new 'brand'. 

My first card with my dear Foxy Barth in the center, Annabelle in the lower corner, Bray in the top right corner. They looked so cute wanting in the house I photographed them. All three had chapters in my widow memoir.


I took it a step further too. A slogan. I love my Margaritas, but I live with a six-pack at home. I tossed that phrase around as I slurped my salt-rimmed drink at happy-hour.  It made its way to my website too.

Armed and dangerous, I waited for the next new person I met to give me the evil eye when I spoke of my dogs. It happened within a week. It was at a social hour at a local business meeting. People talked about their children, I spoke of my dogs. All went well until I was asked, "How many dogs do you have?"

"Six." I beamed.

That look again. Crazy lady. Not even, Crazy Dog Lady. I was prepared.

I whipped out my business card. Writer With Dogs. I smiled (perhaps a bit of a self- serving smile) and handed out my newly printed works of art.

In that instant it was clear to me, people understood writing about your dogs more than living with that many. The rest was easy-peasy.

Of course, my Margarita slogan was something I had to deal with a few years ago, when it was time for Foxy to move on to doggie heaven. In the middle of my grief I realized my six-pack now only held five dogs. That would not work. I found Bertha Barth on Facebook and quickly dashed to Animal Control to make her mine. I was in sync again.

I also needed a new business card - and went with whimsy this time.  I loved the stock image I found online.

 

I have too many dogs, just as I have too many websites, and too many blogs.  Sometimes I wonder if I should reel it in - one website, one blog, but then I know that's not me. I work best in multiples. Six dogs, four or five web domains, and an embarrassing amount of blogs. Writing blogs, antique blogs, house blogs, and blogs that feature books by other authors. The one commonality - I tweet it all under my twitter name, you guessed it @writerwithdogs.

Six dogs is really not too many. I know people who have more. It is a whopping amount of dogs for a single gal who lives alone.  I don't travel, I rarely have company,  getting sick is a nightmare, and I have yet to find a male who thinks it's great I have a six-pack at home. Beer yes, dogs no.  So for me my dogs are my platform, yes, but they have also defined how I live my life. A trade off I wouldn't trade for any other lifestyle.

Not to try to hog the limelight that I am the only writer with dogs. I am just the one who bought the dot.com. Many other authors have dogs as their platform, or dogs that influence their writing, or just plain like to sit at the computer with friendly Fido close by. I have been blessed to meet so many great writers who are kindred dog spirits.

As my writing contacts grew, so did my big ideas. I decided to take my Writer With Dogs blog and turn it into a forum for writers to talk about their dogs.

Writer With Dogs blog - Share Your Stories

 

 

Of all my blogs, Writer With Dogs is my favorite. It is not about me, it is all about sharing dog stories and meeting new authors. Some of my favorite dog writers have been featured there.  I am always looking for new authors to post, so if you have a dog (sometimes a cat has wormed its way in) and write, you might be perfect for a guest spot.

I love dogs, I love books, I love meeting new authors. My brand covers all the bases for me.  It doesn't get any better than that for a gal who named herself Writer With Dogs as she worked on a widow memoir. One world closed and another opened up.

Contact me if you'd like to share your dog story!



This post is being shared on Julie Valerie's Blog Hop for the week of October 29 - Nov 5. Want to join the party and have some fun, meet new authors. Click on the link below the image and off you go!

Visit Hump Day Blog Hop by clicking here.

 

My David Austin Rose Is Blooming!

 

 

 

Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you. 

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

 

(I hope you will enjoy my rose story. It was originally posted on The Cottage In My Mind blog on May 6, 2014. I wanted to include it here for Julie Valerie's Hump Day Blog Hop! Like to party? Hop along the Hump Day Blog Hop on Julie Valerie’s Book Blog. Click here to return to the Hump Day Blog Hop and see what others are writing about.

 

 

Nothing says cottage garden more than roses to me. I want old fashion English roses that look like the roses in magazines, climbing over arbors, twining through picket fences.

 

My wish came true today. In a small way. But big enough to fill my heart with the beauty I covet. And it is growing in my back yard.

 

Finally.

 

My very own David Austin rose is in full regalia with blossoms and buds ready to burst open at any moment.

 

Now, if I were a true gardener, I could tell you the name of this rose. But I don't have a clue. It was purchased twenty years ago from a catalog. The photo was one of many that I had trouble deciding on. I knew pink was a must.

 

It took years to bloom. The rose is planted next to the back of the house. My late husband built a huge trellis for me. The vines took hold of the wood railings and started to climb high. But the rose never had a single flower.

 

Did you fertilize it? you might ask. My answer is no. I did nothing to help this English lady blossom.

 

I just waited.

 

And wondered.

 

Back when my husband was alive he was not happy with the bush. It reached out far into the yard with huge thick thorns that stuck him as he rode by on the lawnmower. There may not have been flowers, but the branches had a life of their own. He pruned it back a few times and tucked the  branches back on the trellis, hoping to contain it. Sometimes cutting it back further than he should at times when pruning was not recommended.

 

Still the rose bush held its own coming back each year. But no blooms.

 

The year after my husband died, I had to put a French drain in next to the foundation of the house. There was water in my basement. The trellis was moved. The rose stayed in place.

 

"Cut that rose bush when you dig the ditch and it is off with your heads!" I told my handyman and his crew as I wagged a finger in their faces.

 

The rose survived the French drain.

 

It bloomed the following year. And has had a rose or two on it each year since.

 

This year it is taking me by surprise.

 

Huge blooms. Many buds.

 

My rose bush. Neglected. Managed to grow despite adversity and is now a thing of beauty.

 

I know there is a life lesson there.

 

For now I'm just going to watch with awe.

 

A Visit To Julie Valerie's Book Blog In Celebration Of Dogs And Dog Books

Julie Valerie's sweet dogs. Chloe on the left and the late Cassie, who went to dog heaven last September after a long loved full life, on the right.

Last Friday was Change A Pet's Life Day and I was thrilled to be included in a blog post on dogs and dog books by Julie Valerie. A fellow dog lover, Julie shared the beautiful photo above. Such sweet faces.

You can link to Julie Valerie's Book Blog and read the dog post by clicking here. Below are the books included in the post. The covers alone make you smile. 

Follow Julie Valerie's Book Blog: Women's Fiction from Jane Austen to Bridget Jones. Click here to go to her home page.

And now the books and a special event!

 

Purchase on Amazon

Author's Web

Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard: If you lost both your spouse and your dog to cancer within weeks of each other, but you were sadder about the dog, would you tell anyone? Maybe your closest friends. Unfortunately, Jane Bailey’s closest friends are on the other side of the country. That’s where Jane plans to go now that she’s free to leave Philadelphia, the too cold, beachless, street taco-deficient city her husband dragged her to six years ago. But with no job prospects in her hometown of San Diego, Jane is roped into helping out temporarily at her uncle’s southwestern small-town B&B. En route to her new role as innkeeper and breakfast chef, she finds a stray at a rest stop. With her heart in pieces from the loss of her dog, she’s determined not to let this mutt worm its way into her affections. She’s also determined to have next-to-no interaction with the B&B’s irritating guests, and the even more annoying handyman who lives next door. Can Jane keep her sanity–and her secret that she’s not really a grieving widow–while trying to achieve her dream of getting back to the place she thinks is home?

Purchase on Amazon

Author's Web

 

What the Dog Ate by Jackie Bouchard: The vet handed Maggie Baxter a plastic specimen bag containing a pair of size-tiny lavender thong panties extracted from her dog; but they were not hers. Or rather, they were hers now since she’d just paid $734 to have Dr. Carter surgically remove them from Kona’s gut.This is how Maggie Baxter, a practical, rule-following accountant, discovers that her husband of seventeen years is cheating on her. All her meticulous life plans are crushed. When he leaves her for the other woman, Maggie and her the-world-is-my-smorgasbord chocolate Lab, Kona, are left to put their lives back together. As Maggie begins to develop a Plan B for her life, she decides to be more like Kona. No, she’s not going to sniff crotches and eat everything that isn’t nailed down; rather she’ll try to approach life with more ball-chasing abandon. Finding herself in situations where she begins to go through her usual over-analysis of the pros and cons, she stops and instead asks herself: What would Kona do? With Kona as her guru, Maggie begins her quest for tail-wagging joy.

 

 

 

Purchase on Amazon

Author's Web

 

Modogamous by Karen E. Martin: Kate Adams has it all figured out. Five years out of college, she’s got a steady job, a home she loves in the big city, and good friends who always keep her laughing: her stylish but nosy roommate Evette, happily-married Cecie, and of course, good old Mitch, her seriously cute co-worker who’s been stuck in the Friend Zone since the day they met.

Everything is going just fine—until the night Kate crosses the line with Mitch, and the boundaries between friendship and love begin to blur. Things get even more complicated when hunky JP enters the scene. What’s a girl to do? Add to the mix a spunky little pug Kate never expected to fall for, and her neatly-ordered life is starting to look more like a dog’s dinner. Maybe her roommate has the right idea after all: forget the men, and stick with a canine companion instead.
It’s time for Kate to figure out what she really wants in life. But can she dig her way out of the mess she’s created before she ends up permanently in the doghouse?


And  my own book, The Unfaithful Widow, where rescue dogs helped rescue me!

 

Purchase on Amazon

 

And an event you won't want to miss!

 

 

 

Give Cancer the Paw Blog Hop (February 6, 2014)

 Folks are welcome to join the hop and blog about whatever they want – a tribute post, research info, tips on fighting cancer, etc. Jackie Bouchard is going to post about Morris Animal Foundation and ways to help out with their canine cancer research. If you want to join, check Jackie Bouchard’s blog (http://poochsmooches.blogspot.com) on February 6th to get the linky info for joining the hop. The Give Cancer the Paw Blog Hop is co-hosted by Jackie and one other blogger (Peggy’s Pet Place). The February 6 event will be the second time they’ve hosted it.

 

Thanks Julie for letting me repost this information and for including me in your post!

 

From one dog lover to another, Dogs Rock!